Yarn moistening and winding apparatus



Oct. 24,, 1950 L. CAMPBELL 2,526,348

YARN NOISTENING AND WINDING APPARATUS Filed Aug. so, 1945 INVENTOR Zea/e [am Mei! ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE YARN MOISTENING AND WINDING APPARATUS Application August 30, 1945, Serial No. 613,465

14 Claims. (Cl. 91-51) The present invention relates to the art of winding yarn, or the like, into a package form such for example as a cop or cone and more particularly relates to a new and improved apparatus for accomplishing this result in respect to yarn which has been treated, that is moistened, with an oil or some other treating liquid.

It is customary and common practice in the winding of yarn onto a cop or cone to lubricate or otherwise moisten the yarn prior to the performance of the winding operation for the purpose of improving the running qualities of the yarn both in the winding operation and such subsequent operations involving the yarn.

The moistening of the yarn is however, in conjunction with the winding thereof, not a simple matter for several reasons and the present apparatus has as its object the overcoming of the difliculties which have been uncountered heretofore in winding machines designed for the accomplishmnet of the production of packages of treated yarn.

In the performance of the work the core, cone or cop upon which the yarn is wound is customarily rotated at a constant speed throughout the entire winding operation, with the result that the linear speed of the yarn increases as the diameter or circumference of the cone or package increases as it is built up. This increase in speed of yarn travel from the start to the finish of the operation is dependent upon the'size of the package finally formed but in practice it has been found that the speed increases several hundred percent, as much as four hundred percent or even more.

In the application of the oil or other treatment 3 liquid 9. problem arises in the application of this treatment liquid uniformly to all parts of the yarn being wound upon the cone. To the accomplishment of this it has proven necessary to adjust the rate of the application of the treatment liquid in a manner to compensate for the increase of the speed of travel of the yarn. That is to say. means must be provided for continuously applying a regulated quantity of treatment li -uid to the yarn.

A further difliculty which has been encounterd is that of the tension of the yarn throughout the opration of the production of a compiete package. When yarn is being wound less tension is needed and in fact is desirable when needed or desired when the yarn is traveling at a low speed. The tendency of course is for the tension to increase with an increase in yarn speed. In machines as heretofore known and used the yarn tension at high speed has been greatly increased due to the fact that the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn has been increased along with the increase in speed of travel of the yarn. This has been due to the fact that in the accomplishment of the application of a regulated quantity of treatment liquid to the yarn as the yarn speed increased the angle of travel of the yarn has been increased. The present invention overcomes this objection and has as its object the maintenance of a substantially constant tension on the yarn throughout the winding operation regardless of the linear speed of the yarn.

The foregoing improved result is accomplished by decreasing the angular path of travel of the yarn as the linear speed of the yarn increases.

Other objects and advantages of'the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter'and will in part be obvious from the following description when read in the light of the accompanying drawings, or may be ascertained from a practice of the invention. Y

A preferred and a modified form of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings but departures from the specific constructions illustrated and described may be made without a departure from the inventive concept and the invention is accordingly to be limited only within the scope of the hereinafter following and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of an apparatus capable of practicing the invention, the trough or reservoir for the treatment liquid being illustrated in vertical section. -t

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the apparatus appearing in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of a modified form of the invention, the trough or reservoir for the treatment liquid being shown in vertical.

section.

In the practice of the invention it is not essential that any particular form of winding machine be utilized in so long as the machine embodies the broad constructional features hereinafter referred to and described. The winding machine can be of the type illustrated and described in the H. W. Doughty, Jr. Patent No. 2,355,634 dated August 15, 1944, or could be a Foster Precise Winder which is widely used and known in the trade and is a product of the assignee company of the referred to Doughty patent.

Describing now Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, A is the cone or cop upon which the yarn package is wound or formed. This cone is suitably rotated at a constant speed upon its supporting spindle I. A traverse back B has an extending supporting arm 2 pivotally mounted at 3 and is provided with an extending weighted arm 4. A yarn guide 5 carried by the traverse back is suitably reciprocated longitudinally of the traverse back and the cone or cop A, all in the usual and conventional manner. It will be understood that as the circumference of the cone or yarn package increases the traverse back swings around its pivot 3. The movement of the traverse back and its weighted arm 4 is, viewing the machine from its front, in a clockwise direction.

A reservoir for the yarn treatment liquid or oil in is in the form of a trough-like receptacle 8. A moistening disc C is mounted rpon a horiaontally disposed shaft I which shaft is suitably rotated by a power means, not shown. As clearly appears in Fig. 1 this disc dips into and picks up oil or other yarn treatment liquid due to its rotation through the liquid in the trough 6.

In the operation of the apparatus the yarn D is unwound from a spool or other suitable package 3', and passes through a fixed guide 8 which is secured to the winding machine base or part 9. This guide is a conventional part of the winding machine. The yarn then passes through the guide eye ill of a movable guide E. The precise structure and manner of operation of said guide will later appear. This guide is disposed in a plane below and to one side of the rotative axis 1 of the moistening disc or member. From the guide eye III the yarn passes upwardly through the guide eye I i of a fixed guide F which is suitably secured to a supporting post i2. From the last named guide eye the yarn passes through a pinch tension device G which is in the form of a pair of light spring steel strips or plates i3 and is suitably secured to the machine as at l5 and which yieldably engage the yarn as at the point It.

From the pinch tension the yarn passes upwardly over a cleaner IT a guide pin I8, a drop wire is and to the reciprocating yarn guide 5 of the traverse back and thence on to the cop or -represented by the chord WX and is obtained and maintained by the position assumed by the guide eye ill of the lower movable guide E. As the circumference of the package or cone increases the speed of travel of the yarn will increase and to adequately and properly moisten the yarn it is necessary that the yarn have a greater area or length of engagement with the moistening disc. This is obtained by moving the guide eye Ill of the lower guide toward the axis I of the moistening disc, as is illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This increases the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc to the chord represented by YZ. In this figure of the drawings it is particularly to be noted that the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the moistening disc is decreased as the chord of contact of the yarn with the disc is increased. Thus as the linear speed of the yarn increases the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc is increased and the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the disc is decreased. As will be apparent from the descrip tion immediately following the linear speed in-- crease of the yarn is gradual, the increase of the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc is gradual and the reduction in the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the disc is gradual. It will be further understood that the increase of the chord of contact and the decrease in the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn is simultaneous.

To accomplish the proper coordinated movement of the yarn guide E the eye iii of this guide is provided with an elongated supporting rod 20 which is freely slidable through the parallel leg portions 2| and 22 of a bracket H which is supported as at 23 by a depending rigid arm 24.

The guide E is connected to and reciprocated by the weighted arm 4 of the traverse back B as said arm is swung due to the ever increasing circumference of the yarn package or cone A. A clamp 25 is secured to the guide rod 20 and is provided with a link 26 which is pivotally connected as at 21 to a fixed member 28. A link 29 is pivotally connected to the clamp 25 at 30. A rod 3| has its upper end connected as at 32 to the weighted arm 4 of the traverse back and its lower end connected as at 33 to the extending end of the clamp link 29.

From the foregoing the operation of the apparatus will be obvious and will need no detailed description. It will be apparent that the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc is increased and the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn across the disc is decreased automatically as the circumference of the package increases. Attention is directed to the fact that the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the moistening disc and through the eyes of the guides E and F is progressively reduced to therefore progressively compensate for the increased tension imposed on the traveling yarn by the increase in the coeiiiciency of friction due to the adhesive effect of the moist yarn and the increase of area or length of yarn in engagement with the moistening disc. Only the upper guide receives moistened yarn and the angularity of the path of travel through this eye is decreased as will be apparent.

' Although such a structure is not illustrated the apparatus could be designed and constructed so as to make the lower guide E fixed and the upper guide F movable and still accomplish a reduction in the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn as the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc is increased. Such a structure would in efiect be no more than a reversal of the parts illustrated and described and would clearly fall within the present inventive concept and could be accomplished by the mere arrangement of parts. a

As mentioned, only one of the guides handles moistened yarn and therefore the question of the in respect to the upper yarn guide. The modified form of the invention provides for a greater de crease in the angular path of travel of the yarn through the upper guide than is obtained in respect to the passage of the yarn through the lower guide.

In addition the modified form of the invention provides for an over-all greater reduction in the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the moistening disc and through the eyes of the guides as the linear speed of travel of the yarn increases and the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc increases than is obtained in the apparatus first described and identified as, but not necessarily, the preferred form of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 3 which illustrates the modified form of the invention the manner of mounting the upper and lower guides and the means 4 of moving these guides only will be described for the reason that the remaining part of the apparatus is identical to that hereinbefore specifically described. In this construction neither the lower guide eye 35 nor the upper guide eye 36 for the yarn is fixed as to position.

The positions of these guide eyes when at the start of the winding operation is illustrated in full lines and the chord of contact of the yarn D with the moistening disc is represented by the chord PQ.

The lower guide eye 35 is carried by a lever 31 which is pivotally mounted as at 38 at a point intermediate its ends but nearer its upper end. The upper end of the lever is forked as at 39 and is engaged by a pin 50 carried by the upper guide eye elongated arm M. This arm 4| is slidable through the previously described lower end portions 2! and 22 of the bracket H and is reciprocated by the previously described connection with the weighted arm 4 of the traverse back. There is the same clamp 25 which is swung about its pivotal support through the linkage 29 and connecting rod 3 i In operation it will be seen that as the circumference of the package increases the upper guide eye 86 will be moved horizontally, to the left as Fig. 3 is viewed, to the position illustrated in dotted lines and that simultaneously the lever 31 Y will be rocked about its pivot and. will assume the position illustrated in dotted lines thus swinging the lower guide eye 35 in the position illustrated in dotted lines. The chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening disc will be increased to that indicated by RS while simultaneously the anguthan the tension oi. the yarn in its passage through the lower guide, is reduced to a greater extent in the upper guide than in the lower guide.

In its practical aspects the tension imparted to the yarn by the pinch tension device G is substantially constant regardless oi" the speed of travel of the yarn through this device. The variables in tension upon the yarn are occasioned by the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn through the guides and across the moistening disc, the speed of travel of the yarn, the area or lineal extent of the contact of the yarn with the moistening disc and the variable adhesive characteristics of the yarn because of the extent and degree of its moistening, and the fact that moistened yarn passes through one of the guides. These variables are automatically and efllciently taken care of by the present invention with the result that under all conditions occurring in the winding operation tension on the yarn is maintained substantially constant, which is an accomplishment constituting a highly desirable and improved advancement in the art.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, a yarn winder, a moistener comprising a rotatably mounted disc between a source of yarn and the winder, a pair of guides between said source and winder positioned so that the straight yarn path therebetween defines a chord of said disc, said guides and source being positioned so that the straight yarn path is at a slight angle to the yarn at either end of said straight path, and means for varying the relative positions of said guides with respect to said disc and reducirig the angle of said straight path to the yarn at either end with increased yarn winding speeds and si- -multaneously moving the. straight path of the yarn closer to the axis of said disc whereby the deflection of the yarn is reduced as its chord on said disc is increased.

2. In an apparatus for moi'stening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, the combination of a yarn winder, a disc between a source of yarn and the winder, a pair of guides defining an angular yarn path between said source and said winder, a straight reach of which path forms a chord of said disc, means for varying the relativepositions of said guides with respect to said disc as the speed of the yarn is increased to increase the chord formed by said straight reach of yarn, said means including means for moving at least one of said guides closer to a straight line or non-deflectin position of the yarn as it passes through said guides.

3. A construction as definedin claim 2 wherein, the moistening device is in the form of a disc the flat end face of which is disposed in a vertical plane, said yarn engaging the fiat end face of the disc, one of said guides being fixed and the other being movable, the movable guide being disposed in a vertical plane at one side of the horizontal axis of the disc, means to move said guide, and said movable guide being moved in a direction toward the axis of the disc when acting to cause a greater length of yarn to engage the face of the disc and decrease the angle in the direction of travel of the yarn between the guides.

4. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein, the moistening device is in the form of a disc rotatable about a horizontal axis, one of said guides being fixed and the other being movable, one of said guides being above and the other being below the axis of the disc, the movable guide being movable in a horizontal plane toward and move said guide.

aoaaece 5. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein, the moistening device is in the form of a disc rotatable about a horizontal axis, one of said guides being fixed and the other movable, the fixed guide being above and the movable guide below the axis of the disc, the movable guide being movable in a. horizontal plane toward and away from the disc axis, and means to move the movable guide. Y

6. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, a moistening device in the form of a disc, a pair of spaced out of line yarn guides both disposed at one side of the center of the disc and causing the yarn to engage and pass over the disc, one of said guides being movable to increase the surface of contact of the yarn on the disc, said guides exerting a tension on the yarn, the degree of tension exerted on the yarn by said guides being decreased as the surface of contact of the yarn on the disc is increased through movement of the movable guide, and means to move the movable guide and progressively increase the surface of contact of the yarn on the disc as the linear speed of the yarn increases with the increasing circumference of the package.

7. A construction as defined in claim 2 wherein, one of said guides is fixed and the other is movable toward and away from the disc, a member movably mounted and actuated by the increasing circumference of the package, and an operative connection between said member and said movable guide for moving said guide to gradually increase the surface of contact of the yarn on the disc as the circumference of the package increases.

8. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, spaced guides through which the yarn passes and between which the yarn travels at an angle, a moistening device having a flat, disc-like moistening surface, said guides causing the yarn to engage and pass over the moistening surface of said device, both of said guides being movably mounted to cause an increase in the surface of contact of the yarn on the moistening surface of the device, said movement of the guides decreasing the angle in the direction of travel of the yarn between the guides, .and means to move said guides in response to the increasing diameter of the yarn package. v

9. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increase as the circumference of the package increases, a moistening device having a flat, disc-like moistening surface, a pair of movably mounted guides through which the yarn passes in its travel to the package, one of said guides being movable in a straight line in a direction transverse to the moistening surface of said device, the other of said guides being movable about a pivot, means to simultaneously move said guides, and the movement of said guides acting to increase the chord of contact of the yarn with the moistening surface of said device and to simultaneously decrease the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn through the guides and the angularity of the path of travel of the yarn over the moistening surface of said device.

10. A construction as defined in claim 9 wherein, a member is movably mounted and is automatically moved by the increasing circumference of the package, and an operative connection between said member and said movable guides for moving said guides as described.

11. A construction as defined in claim 9 wherein, the moistening device is in the form of a disc rotatable about a horizontal axis, one of said guides being a lower guide and comprising the pivotally mounted guide, the other guide being an upper guide and comprising the one which is movable in a straight line, and means to simultaneously move said guides.

12. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, a moistening device having a fiat, disc-like moistening surface, a pair of guides through which the yarn passes in its travel to the package, said guides causing the yarn to pass over the moistening surface of said device, said guides being in spaced relationship to one another and out of alignment whereby the yarn is bent at an angle as it passes through the guides, one of said guides being movable to bring it into a position approaching alignment with the other guide, said guide movement reducing the angularity of the bend of the yarn in its passage through the guides and simultaneously increasing the length of yarn engagement with the moistening surface of said device, and means acting automatically as the circumference of the yarn package increases to move said movable guide toward alignment with the other guide.

13. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumference of the package increases, a moistening device having a flat, disc-like moistening surface, a pair of guides through which the yarn passes in its travel to the package, said guides causing the yarn to pass over the moistening surface of said device, said guides being in spaced relationship to one another and out of alignment whereby the yarn is bent at an angle as it passes through the guides, both of said guides being movable for the purpose of bringing them into positions approaching alignment with one another, said movement of said guides toward alignment with one another reducing the angu- Iarity of the bend of the yarn as it passes through the guides and simultaneously increasing the length of yarn contact with the moistening surface of said device, and means acting automatically as the circumference of the yarn package increases to move said guides toward alignment with one another.

14. In an apparatus for moistening and thereafter winding yarn or the like into a package form where the apparatus is of the type in which the linear speed of the yarn increases as the circumfcrence of the package increases, spaced guides through which the yarn passes and between which the yarn travels at an angle, a moistening device having a flat, disc-like moistening surface, said guides causing the yarn to engage and pass over the moistening surface of said device, one of said guides being movable to increase the surface of contact of the yarn on the mois- REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 104 UNITED STATES BATENTB Name Date Hellweg Nov. 5, 1929 Gladding June 24, 1930 Frey Aug. 9, 1932 Williams 'etval. Sept. 3. 1936 Gross Dec. 1, 1942 Anny Sept. '1, 1943 Brown Aug. 29, 1944 

